Ruhaan Rajput deftly climbing the ladder of success

Actor Ruhaan Rajput discusses his role in his upcoming movie Paama and also reveals some of the projects he's currently working on

Actor Ruhaan Rajput discusses his role in his upcoming movie Paama and also reveals some of the projects he's currently working on. His recent short film Unfaithful has crossed a remarkable 7 million views over different channels.

Your role in the movie 'Paama' seems very intriguing. Can you please tell us something about that and the movie?

Paama is a story about 'kinnars' and their struggle in life and how they deal with that. The story goes like this - there's a son born in a very affluent family after a long time. However, after birth they find out that the child was born a kinnar. One day when a group of kinnars arrive at this house to bestow blessings upon the child, the disappointed father asks them to take the child away with them. Moved by this, the leader of the group Shobha, decides to raise the child as her own. She struggles to get him educated and wishes for him to become a big man in the society. The other kinnars of the group oppose her and persuade her to make the child like themselves.

But Shobha doesn't relent and eventually the child, Raghav (that's my character), grows up to be a collector. The movie is all about the difficulties Shobha had to endure in order to make the child a respectable man in the society. The movie gives out the message that kinnars or transgenders are as normal human beings as everyone else and they too have a right to pursue whatever they want in life and not be subjected to the traditional image of kinnars. The movie emphasizes that a kinnar has an equal right to be a part of the society and not be judged or stereotyped.

Can you tell us about any memorable or challenging experience during Paama's shoot?

The most memorable thing about the entire film for me was that I got to look closely at the world of transgenders. Although my character is not a kinnar per se, I was working closely with kinnars. Things about their life, their daily struggles, their mannerisms, their emotions, I got to see all of that. More impactful for me was how they are not given an equal opportunity in the society even though they might have the skills. That's very saddening.

Another thing that we had to struggle with was the huge crowd that flocked to see the shoot. Since we were shooting in a small town, the locals there were very excited to see a film shoot. The story is based on Shobha, who holds a political designation in the local area. It used to get quite difficult to control the crowd sometimes.

There's a new music video of yours coming on Times Music - 'Tujhse Judi Hai'. This seems quite different from the ones you have been doing so far. What is it about?

Tujhse Judi Hai Saans…..is a sad romantic song. It's about an army officer who is returning back to his beloved after a long time. On the way, he reminisces of all the good, fun times spent with her. The video has the concept showing that army officers too have a normal life waiting for them back at home, but they get to experience that only when they return. It shows the emotions army officers go through when they're going back home to their loved ones.

Your video Mohabataiyan is doing very well. It's got over 1 million views on YouTube alone! People are giving a good response and the song is being loved by all. Do you want to venture into singing or music after this?
(Laughs) No no! Singing is not my cup of tea. Let that be for the experts!

So, are you interested in dancing?

Oh yes! I'm looking forward to showing my dancing skills. As an actor, it is important that you know how to dance well too. I have been formally training with dance instructors for different forms of dance. As you know, I did a bit of Latin dancing in Mohabataiyan. But, I'm thinking of opting for a project that has a good amount of dancing involved. I know I have been doing a lot of romantic songs, and I want people to see a variation. I have a Punjabi song shoot in the pipeline, so we will see about what happens ahead in that.

What are some of your future projects?

I'm doing an Armaan Malik song. The shoot is starting next month and it's going to be released through T-Series. The casting of the actress opposite me is almost done. I am also doing a new film, details of which shall be revealed later.

What makes you choose your projects?

I would always want to do stories that are different from each other. I don't want to typecast myself into performing just one kind of character. Moreover, I crave for creative satisfaction. I don't care about the film being a small budget or a big budget one. I don't care about fame and money. If through my movies and my portrayal of characters, I can send out a positive message to the society, I would consider myself a success. Like Paama, in Prarabdh too, which was based on Bhagwad Gita, there was an influential message that went out. I know such films may not be commercially popular, but they have a purpose. After 50 years if someone sees these films and learns something out of them, I'd be happy. Using this platform, if I am able to positively influence even 1 person out of a 100, it is a big thing for me.

Your presence has been in the industry since 2-3 years. What improvement or change do you see in yourself?

Yes, there are a lot of changes. I have become more finessed in my acting skills. I have also received comments on that. I feel experience makes you better. I was a novice in acting earlier, and gradually I'm learning and improving. In the type of art films that I do, there's more of acting required; there's not much scope for other skills. If you're in a 9-5 job you keep doing the same work every day so you get polished eventually. But for a freelance artist, who doesn't do the same work regularly, and has to keep doing different characters, you always have to keep learning and adapting. So these things are quite complicated to learn and perform. Nevertheless, I strive to keep doing better.

On January 20 this year, Einfolge Technologies (company owned by Ruhaan Rajput and Binod Singh) celebrated its 5th anniversary in Taj, Bangalore. All deserving employees were given awards and recognition. Ruhaan himself presented the awards. He also celebrated his birthday with the entire team, just like he does every year.

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